Transport module for transporting a container and a processing device and a method for transporting a container

ABSTRACT

A transport module for transporting a container from a container source to a container receiver, the transport module includes a transport route with a transporter, the transport route between a reception area and a transfer area. A first holder configured to receive and hold the container is arranged and configured at the transporter in such a manner, that the container is grasped by the first holder in the reception area and the container is suspendingly transported along the transport route from the reception area to the transfer area, carried by the first holder.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to European Application No. 17166335.4,filed Apr. 12, 2017, the contents of which are hereby incorporatedherein by reference.

BACKGROUND Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a transport module for transporting a containerfrom a container source to a container receiver, in particular fortransporting the container from a container dispenser to a fillingstation for filling the container or for transporting the container froma filling station for filling the container to a sealing module forsealing a container opening of a container by means of a lid and to aprocessing device for processing a container and to a method fortransporting a container according to the preamble of the independentclaim of the respective category.

Background of the Invention

DE 42 36 784 A1, for example, discloses a generic transport module fortransporting a container to a container receiver, which has beendescribed inter alia in DE 749 636 or DE 42 34 115 A1 with a particularconfiguration of a sealing module.

Especially in the beverage industry, but not only, the common practiceis to convey beverage cans after the filling process in a sealing modulein the design of a can sealer by a transport module in the form of aso-called feeding table. This feeding table consists of a sliding belt,on which the cans are arranged in an upright position and aretransported by a chain attachment. To prevent a lateral breakaway of thecan flow, side guides limit a lateral movement of the cans. The slidingof the cans is crucial for a smooth running of the same, otherwiseproduct loss could be caused by spillage, which may cause the beverageproducer correspondingly significant loss over time, and in addition thespillage or leakage of the ingredients from the containers or cans mayalso result in unnecessary extra cleaning works, problems with thehygiene and so on.

The still open cans reach the so-called folding stations in the sealingmodule, e.g. in the can sealer, where they are applied with a lid and atthe same time the headspace in the can is gassed with a protective gasor an inert gas to ensure the shelf life of the product. Then, the canon the folding station is set in rotation, while the folding stationsimultaneously rotates around the central axis of the sealing module.Since in practice usually several folding stations are used on acarrousel-like middle part of the sealing module, higher sealing ratesare possible.

SUMMARY

For a better understanding of the present invention, a transport moduleknown from the state of the art in the form of a feeding table accordingto DE 42 34 115 A1 will first be described below with reference toFIG. 1. The feeding table briefly described above could, for example,essentially designed in this manner.

For a better distinction between the known state of the art and thepresent invention, reference signs referring to features of devicesknown from the state of the art have an inverted comma (in FIG. 1) ortwo inverted commas (FIGS. 2A and 2B), while features of devices ortheir compounds according to the invention have no inverted comma withinthe framework of this application.

In the known transport module 3′ according to FIG. 1, a container 1′, inthe present example a metallic can 1′, previously filled with contentsin a filling device, not shown in FIG. 1, is pushed on a rail 5′ of thetransmodule 3′ in the direction of A′ by a finger 4 a′ attached to adrive chain 4′ for receiving a beverage or for receiving another food orany other product. The can 1′ is guided on its opposite sides by a guiderail 6′ and a chain-side guide 13′. Then, the can 1′ is transferred to acan lifter 12′ of a sealing module 10′, which moves synchronously withthe transport module 3′, and enters a recess 7 a′ of a sealing rotaryhead 7′, which rotates in the circumferential direction U1′. Whenentering the sealing rotary head 7′, a recess 8 a′, 15′ of an oppositerotary head 8′ or of a counter rotary head 8′, which is preferablyarranged at a position symmetrical to the sealing rotary head 7′ andwhich rotates synchronized with the sealing rotary head 7′ in thereverse direction of rotation U2′, and the recess 7 a′ of the sealingrotary head 7′ clamp the container 1′ on a line F′-F′ from oppositesides and center the container 1′ in a position suitable for sealing orhemming. After hemming a container lid 2′ with the container 1′ by asealing roller or a hemming roller, not shown, the container 1′ sealedwith the container lid 2′ moves via an ejector rotary head 9′ and anejection rail 14′ in the direction B′ via a can ejector conveyer 9′ andis then fed to the next step in the sequence or process.

It is clear, that the known transport modules described above and to beimproved by the invention are to be understood merely as examples of thesystems which are currently used in the state of the art. Naturally, theinvention also improves all known transmodules based on similarprinciples or functioning on similar principles, or most of such othertransport systems can be replaced by a transport module according to theinvention.

A special challenge in the field of packaging or conservation ofproducts of all kind, such as beverages, food such as, for example,vegetables or fruits as well the packaging of other products such asmineral oils, lubricants and many other products, which are well knownto the person skilled in the art, is, especially when using containersin the form of metallic cans, that the wall thickness of the containers,that is to say in particular the walls and lids delimiting the cans,should always become thinner in order to save resources for theproduction of cans, to reduce the expense of recycling the cans, butalso to save weight when transporting and handling the cans in order toensure ultimately not only a more economical but also a moreenvironmentally friendly use of existing resources.

However, an unsolved problem in sealing containers and cans until now,whose wall thickness is being further reduced, is, that thesecontainers, especially beverage cans or food cans or tin cans orcontainers for other products, no longer adequately withstand the radialand axial pressures required by the classical sealing methods, whichpressures are necessary in the well-known classic methods for a perfectsealing of the container.

The applicant of the present application has already clearly recognizedthis problem earlier and has provided a solution with itsPCT/EP2016/053764 in order to meet the needs of the market resultingfrom this problem, which solution largely or in particular completelyavoids the described known problem with the radial pressure and theaxial pressure, so that it is now possible for the first time by theapplicant's invention mentioned above to reliably seal containers, inparticular in the form of metallic cans regardless of the wall thicknessof the container without the container or the lid being damaged orotherwise affected during sealing. Furthermore, it is possible for thefirst time by the invention, to reliably seal not only containers orcans with an almost arbitrarily low wall thickness. Now, also containersand cans of other materials, e.g. made of various plastics, biomaterialsor other, in particular recyclable materials can be reliably sealed,because the applicant has fully solved the problem with the radial andaxial pressure loads when sealing the containers by the inventionmentioned above.

The problem with the axial pressure when sealing the containers existingup to the invention according to PCT/EP2016/053764 will be brieflyoutlined in the following for a better understanding.

The known sealing modules according to the state of the art comprise aclamping device for receiving the container to be sealed. In theoperating state, the container to be sealed is introduced into theclamping device and secured by this in the axial and radial direction,so that the container is generally exposed to both axial and radialforces, which, as explained below, leads to the fact that the containersand lids must have a certain minimum wall thickness, otherwise theycannot adequately withstand the axially and radially acting forces. Whensealing the container, a lid is further centrically inserted over thecontainer opening of the container to be sealed. The container has acircumferential container flange in the region of the container openingand the lid has a circumferential lid flange. For sealing the containeropening by the lid, the sealing module additionally comprises twofolding rollers pivoted about an axis, which press the container flangetogether with the lid flange under a given force, wherein the pressingprocedure is made by a continuous rolling in the circumferentialdirection along the circumference of the container opening.

Thus, a minimum stiffness of the lid and the container is required dueto the forces acting on the container or the lid. In practice,therefore, there is a need to achieve this minimum stiffness of the lidand the container up to now by an appropriate choice of material andmaterial thickness, and by an appropriate structure of the lid and thecontainer. Furthermore, correspondingly large lid flange surfaces andcontainer flange surfaces are also required in order to produce asealing-safe folding bulge by means of the circumferential sealingmethod. All this results in a relatively high material consumption,which, as already mentioned, not only results in high material costs.

Another significant disadvantage of the previously described classicalsealing module known up to PCT/EP2016/053764 is, that correspondinglyhigh sealing times arise due to the mode of the pressing procedure,namely by the continuous rolling in the circumferential direction alongthe circumference of the container opening. This has a negative effecton the throughput and thus on the costs.

Furthermore, the classic structure of the sealing module involves highset-up times during a tool change for the operation on a differentcontainer geometry or lid geometry, because the clamping device and/orthe folding rollers must be adjusted and/or replaced. Additionally, theuse of the known sealing module is limited to round container openings,i.e. an opening without corners, and, in the operating state, thecontainer opening must also be arranged in a horizontal plane when usingthe known sealing modules. Finally, the mode of the pressing procedure,namely by the continuous rolling in the circumferential direction alongthe circumference of the container opening, limits the folding form totwo-dimensional, i.e. plane circumferential lines. As a result, nothree-dimensional folding forms can be produced.

The applicant has already recognized all these problems earlier and hassolved them reliably and successfully by the invention according toPCT/EP2016/053764 by a novel sealing module and a corresponding novelmethod for sealing containers, as will be outlined below forclarification with reference to FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B.

FIG. 2A shows a cross section through an example of a sealing module 1″of the invention according to PCT/EP2016/053764. According to FIG. 2A,the sealing module 1″ comprises a supporting unit 8″ having a supportingsurface 8 a″ and a pressing unit 9″ having a pressing surface 9 a″. Thesupporting surface 8 a″ is formed as a supporting surface profile 8 b″and the pressing surface 9 a″ as a corresponding pressing surfaceprofile 9 b″. The supporting unit 8″ is arranged immovably in thesealing module 1″ and the pressing unit 9″ is provided movably in theaxial direction relative to an axis A3″ of the supporting unit 8″. Thesupporting unit 8″ is designed as a holding unit for supporting thecontainer flange 6″. The container 2″ to be sealed is secured by theholding unit at the container flange 6″ in the axial direction to theaxis A3″. In addition, the container 2″ is fixed by the holding unit inthe axial direction to the axis A3″ and centered by a centering means ordevice.

As shown in FIG. 2B, the pressing unit 9″ is displaced in the axialdirection towards the supporting unit 8″ during the sealing procedure.Here, the lid flange 7″ of the lid 3″ and the container flange 6″ arepressed together in such a form-locking manner by an axially actingpressing force F_(A)″ between the supporting surface profile 8 b″ andthe pressing surface profile 9 b″, that no axial pressing forces F_(A)″act on the can body DK″ as such. Then, after sealing, the container 2″can be removed again from the supporting unit 8″ by the ejection element12″.

In simple terms, the container 2″ to be sealed is hung up suspendingfreely by its container flange 6″ in the supporting surface 8 a″ of thesupporting unit 8″ and the lid 3″ is pressed together with its lidflange 7″ and the container flange 6″ with at least one pressing forceF_(A)″ acting in the axial direction A3″ for sealing the containerwithout exposing the container body DK″ to an axially acting pressingforce F_(A)″, since the container body DK″ is freely hung up at itscontainer flange 6″.

The fact, that at least no axial pressing forces F_(A)″ are acting onthe container body DK″, the thickness of at least the container body DK″can be reduced to an absolute minimum and thus, the amount of materialrequired overall for the production of the container 2″.

Thus, the problems explained in the introduction in connection with thesealing of the containers have been solved indeed by the inventionaccording to PCT/EP2016/053764. However, the containers, e.g. beveragecans, food cans or other containers to be sealed still have to besupplied to the sealing modules, both the novel sealing modulesaccording to PCT/EP2016/053764 and the previously known sealing modulesof the older type, of the corresponding next processing station with theclassic transport modules described above, e.g. from a containerdispenser providing the empty containers or from a filling station inwhich the containers are first filled.

The transport modules described above and known from the state of theart in form of classic feeding tables have a number of disadvantagesthat have not yet been resolved satisfactorily, regardless of the typeof sealing module to which the feeding table supplies the containers tobe sealed or regardless of the filling station to which the containersare supplied for filling.

Thus, up to now, it may be necessary to accept high changeover times, atleast in certain cases during a tool change for operation on a differentcontainer geometry, since the containers, for example, no longer fitinto the guide device of the feeding table. Either because thecontainers are too big, so that the guide devices of the feeding tablecan no longer receive the containers, or because the containers are toosmall or too big, i.e. for example, too narrow, too low or too high, sothat they cannot be safely positioned in the guide device and as aresult, the content, in particular liquid content, escapes from thecontainers during transport or the containers can even fall down fromthe transport module, since the containers can no longer be safely heldon the transport module, for example on the feeding table. Furthermore,the use of the known transport modules such as the described feedingtables etc., is usually limited to a specific geometry of thecontainers, usually to round containers having a substantially circularradial cross section, i.e. limited to a corresponding geometry withoutcorners. After all, the safe transfer of the containers from thetransport module to a container receiver, e.g. to the sealing module, isbasically a critical process step, which has to be ensured safely andreliably under all circumstances.

Thus, the object of the invention is to propose an improved transportmodule for transporting a container to a container receiver, inparticular for transporting the container from a container dispenser toa container receiver in the form of a filling station for filling thecontainer, or for transporting a container from a filling station forfilling the container to a container receiver in the form of a sealingmodule for sealing a container opening of the container by means of alid, which transport module solves the problems known from the state ofthe art, which transport module has a simplified and, with respect tothe containers to be transported, flexible structure and in which therequirements for the material of container and/or lid are reducedregarding their stability or thickness. Additionally, the transportmodule should be flexibly adaptable to the different sealing modules inuse and should be usable with these and should be optimally usable, inparticular for the novel type of a sealing module described above, e.g.according to PCT/EP2016/053764, so that even very modern sealingmodules, for example those of the type described according to FIG. 2Aand FIG. 2B, can be optimally supplied with containers to be sealed.Thereby, shorter sealing times and also shorter changeover times shouldbe additionally achievable, in which individual components of thetransport module are easily and quickly exchangeable and in whichmoreover the containers are not limited to round or cylindricalgeometries. Furthermore, a great simplification of the sealer isachieved.

Another object of the invention is to provide a corresponding processingdevice for processing a container and a corresponding method fortransporting a container.

The objects of the invention meeting this problem are characterized bythe features of the independent claim of the respective category.

The dependent claims relate to particularly advantageous embodiments ofthe invention.

Thus, the invention relates to a transport module for transporting acontainer from a container source to a container receiver, wherein thetransport module comprises a transport route with a means or device fortransporting, which transport route is disposed between a reception areaand a transfer area. According to the invention, a first holding meansfor device or receiving and holding the container is arranged andconfigured in such a manner at the device for transport, that thecontainer can be grasped by the first holding device in the receptionarea and that the container can be suspendingly transported along thetransport route from the reception area to the transfer area, carried bythe first holding device.

Thus, in the invention, the container can be suspendingly transportedalong the transport route from the reception area to the transfer areaby the holding device. In other words, according to the presentinvention, the container is no longer on a transport belt and must beguided at least laterally with guide devices on the transport belt, butthe container hangs rather freely suspending on the holding deviceduring the transport process, so that no additional guiding or holdingmeasures must be made as mandatory in the state of the art. Thus, notonly no lateral guides are necessary anymore, but in addition, atransport module according to the invention does not need to be set upseparately for a special container size or for a special containershape, since the holding device is suitable for all common containersizes and container shapes, because it simply carries them freelysuspending, so that no additional guiding or holding measures must bemade during the transport of the container. Thus, in a transport moduleaccording to the invention, it is also possible to dispense with thenecessary elements known from the state of the art, such as tableplates, sliding belts, etc., since these are not required in a freelysuspending transport of the containers.

Further essential advantages of the transport module of the presentinvention result from the fact, that the precise transition, which wasvery difficult to manage in the state of the art, from the filler plateto the table plate of the feeding table, e.g. the transition of thecontainer from a container source in the form of a filling station forfilling the container to the transport module, is now very simple and inparticular no longer needs to be set elaborately and carefully duringinstallation. The known problems with the setting are also avoided bythe use of a transport module according to the invention, whereby up tonow it was usually necessary to distinguish between warm/cold operationof the system.

As already indicated, the devices for guiding the containers on thefeeding table, i.e. on the transport module and for the most part in thesealing module, i.e. in the sealer, for example, no longer have to becarried out and even when changing tools, they no longer have to beadjusted or cleaned in a time-consuming manner.

Thus, practically all technically delicate transitions known from thestate of the art between the container source and the transport moduleor between the transport module and the container receiver, i.e., forexample, also on the feeding table as in the transition from the tableplate to the sliding belt, from the sliding belt to the folding plateetc., are omitted by the invention. It is clear, that in doing so theentire sliding issue on the feeding table including the belt lubricationwill become unnecessary.

When using an innovative sealer, for example according toPCT/EP2016/053764 as described by way of example with reference to FIG.2A and FIG. 2B, no technically intricate middle part with adjustedlifting stations is required in the sealing module and in such a sealer,the stations on which the cans are sealed, no longer necessarily have tobe rotated around its own axis during the sealing process, as it waspreviously mandatory in the known systems in the state of the art.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of a transport module accordingto the invention, the first holding device is designed in the form of agripper, in particular as a gripper in the form of gripping tongs forgrasping and holding the container. Then, the containers can be removedwith the grippers, which e.g. are arranged at a distance of the dividebetween the filler and the sealer, from the filler and fed to the cansealer. The grippers grasp the cans at an upper neck area and hold themuntil they are transferred to the sealer. Grippers may then also be onthe folding stations, which take over the arriving containers and alsohold the containers in the neck area during the sealing process takingplace about the central axis of the sealer.

It is clear, that for certain applications the first holding device forgrasping and holding the container can also be designed as a contactmodule, in particular a vacuum assisted suction module or as a magnetassisted contact module or as an adhesively assisted contact module.Thus, as an alternative to the gripper or in addition to the gripper,the first holding device may comprise a suction head, which can beapplied with a vacuum, so that the container sticks to the suction headdue to the vacuum. It is also possible in very special cases, that thecontact module has a special adhesive property and/or that it comprisesan electromagnetic or a permanent-magnetic element, with which thecontainer can be held on the holding device as an alternative to thegripper or to support the gripper, if the material of the container ismagnetic, for example, or has special adhesive properties.

Of course, the container can also be held in any other suitable way bythe holding element, for example by the gripper which does not enclosethe container but clamps the container at a suitable section, forexample on a bulge and thus holds the container securely. The personskilled in the art knows a whole set of other measures to ensure that acontainer can be held securely and reliably by a holding element.

The device for transporting or moving the first holding device can besuitably designed in a number of ways known per se to the person skilledin the art and in practice, will often comprise a transport chain drivenby a drive and/or a transport belt driven by a drive or another drivetechnology known per se, such as a linear motor, for example, or othersuitable, possibly magnetic field based drive technology, on which thefirst holding means for holding the container is suitably designed andfunctionally connected.

The invention further relates to a processing device for processing acontainer comprising a container source, a container receiver and atransport module of the present invention. In this case, the containercan be transported by the transport module from the container source tothe container receiver.

In practice, for example, the container source may be a containerdispenser known per se for providing empty containers and/or thecontainer receiver may be designed in the form of a filling station forfilling the container with a filling material. Of course, the containersource may also be designed in the form of a filling station for fillingthe container with a filling material and/or the container receiver isrealized in the form of a sealing module for sealing the container by alid. It will often be the case in practice, that the filling stationworks in parallel as a container receiver and as a container dispenser.The empty containers are supplied to the filling station from acorresponding container dispenser, in certain cases possibly by atransport module according to the invention, then the containers arefilled in the filling station with a filling material, wherein thefilled container is then transferred to another transport moduleaccording to the invention of the processing device, which finallyconveys the filled container to a sealing module and transfers thecontainer to the sealing module for sealing.

Of course, it is also advantageously possible with a processing deviceaccording to the invention, that the container source comprises a secondholding device for receiving and holding the container and/or that thecontainer receiver comprises a third holding device for receiving andholding the container, wherein the second holding device and/or thethird holding device comprises a gripper, in particular a gripper in theform of gripping tongs for grasping and holding the container and/orwherein the second holding device and/or the third holding devicecomprises a contact module, in particular a vacuum assisted suctionmodule or a magnet assisted contact module or an adhesively assistedcontact module for grasping and holding the container.

This means that the components communicating with the transport moduleof the invention, such as, for example, the container source and/or thecontainer receiver, can also be equipped with the above-mentionedholding devices, so that in particular the process of transferring orexchanging the containers between the transport module and the containersource and/or between the transport module and the container receivercan be made smoothly and thus, not only the transport of the containersis optimized by the invention but also the exchange of the containersbetween the transport module according to the invention and thecomponents communicating with this. The handling and transport of thecontainers within the container source and/or the container receiver canalso be further improved or optimized by using the second and/or thirdholding device.

Finally, the invention also relates to a method for transporting acontainer from a container source to a container receiver by a transportmodule of the invention, in particular a method for transporting acontainer by using a processing device according to the invention,wherein the transport module comprising a transport route with a devicefor transporting is disposed between a reception area and a transferarea between the container source and the container receiver. In thisembodiment, the container is received and held in the reception area bythe container source by a first holding device disposed at the devicefor transporting, the container is suspendingly transported from thereception area to the transfer area carried by the first holding meansand then the container is transferred to the container receiver in thetransfer area.

As already described above and will be explained in more detail laterwith reference to the drawings, the container can be transferred in thereception area from the container source to the first holding device bya second holding device and/or the container can be transferred in thetransfer area from the first holding device to the third holding deviceof the container receiver.

In a method according to the invention, as already mentioned, the secondholding device and/or the third holding device may of course comprise agripper, in particular a gripper in the form of gripping tongs forgrasping and holding the container and/or the second holding deviceand/or the third holding device may comprise a contact module, inparticular a vacuum assisted suction module or a magnet assisted contactmodule or an adhesively assisted contact module for grasping and holdingthe container.

In order to ensure an improved handling, i.e. receiving and holding thecontainers, the first holding device and/or the second holding deviceand/or the third holding device may comprise a gripper, in particular agripper in the form of gripping tongs, wherein the first holding deviceand/or the second holding device and/or the third holding deviceencloses the container in a form-locking manner by the gripper on arecess and/or on a bulge of the container.

A container dispenser for providing empty containers can be used as acontainer source and/or a container receiver in the form of a fillingstation is advantageously used for filling the container with a fillingmaterial. Of course, a filling station for filling the container with afilling material can also be used as the container source and/or acontainer receiver in the form of a sealing module for sealing thecontainer by a lid can also be advantageously used.

In practice, a transport module according to the invention or aprocessing device or a method for transporting containers according tothe present invention is used particularly advantageously in thebeverage industry, wherein a beverage can is used as the container andthe beverage can is filled with a liquid food.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be explained in more detail hereinafter withreference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a transport module known from the state of the art;

FIG. 2A is a sealing module before the sealing process known from thestate of the art;

FIG. 2B is the sealing module according to FIG. 2A during the sealingprocess;

FIG. 3A is schematically an embodiment of a processing device accordingto the invention with transport module;

FIG. 3B is an enlarged section of the transport route according to FIG.3A;

FIG. 3C is a container from FIG. 3B with a recess and a bulge in theupper holding area of the container;

FIG. 4A is a special embodiment of a chain guide with container on afirst holding means;

FIG. 4B is a functionality of the first holding means according to FIG.4A from the view AN.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

As already mentioned, FIG. 1 and FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B show the state ofthe art, which was already explained in detail at the beginning, so thatfurther discussion is not necessary here.

FIG. 3A, FIG. 3B and FIG. 3C schematically show a simple embodiment of aprocessing device 100 according to the invention with transport module1, wherein with reference to FIG. 3B, an enlarged section of thetransport route according to FIG. 3A is illustrated and FIG. 3C shows indetail a container from FIG. 3B with a recess and a bulge in the upperholding area of the container.

The transport module 1 serves to transport a container 2 from acontainer source 31 to a container receiver 32, wherein the transportmodule 1 comprises a transport route 6 with a means of transport ordevice for transporting (transporter) 61, which transport route isbetween a reception area 4 and a transfer area 5. According to thepresent invention, a first holding device (holder) 7, 71 for receivingand holding the container 2 is arranged and configured at thetransporter 61, which here comprises a chain drive known per se, in sucha manner, that the numerous containers 2 are grasped by the firstholding device 7, 71 in the reception area 4 and that the containers 2are suspendingly transported along the transport route 6 from thereception area 4 to the transfer area 5, carried by the first holdingdevice 7, 71. As can be clearly seen from FIG. 3B, the containers 2,here beverage cans 2, are grasped by grippers 71, which are each in theform of gripping tongs, and are connected via these for transportingwith the means of transport 61 in the form of a chain drive.

A container source 31, a container receiver 32 and the transport module1 already mentioned are provided for processing the containers 2, sothat the containers 2 can be transported from the container source 31 tothe container receiver 32 by the transport module 1. In the presentembodiment, according to FIG. 3A to FIG. 3C, the container source 31 isdesigned in the form of a filling station for filling the containers 2with a filling material and the container receiver 32 is designed in theform of a sealing module for sealing the container 2 by lids 8.

In the present specific embodiment, the sealing module is a modernsealing module according to FIG. 2A or FIG. 2B, as the applicant hasproposed, for example, in the PCT/EP2016/053764 already discussed at thebeginning, the content of which is hereby incorporated into thisapplication. The container receiver 32 comprises a third holding device(holder) 700 for receiving the containers 2 from the transport module 1,the third holding device 700 for grasping and holding the container 2 isdesigned here as a gripper 71, in the form of gripping tongs equal to orsimilar to the gripper 71 on the transport module 1.

As can be seen particularly well in FIG. 3C, the first holding device 7,71 and also the third holding device 700 for grasping and holding thecontainers 2 are designed as grippers 71 in the form of gripping tongs,wherein the first holding device 7, 71, the third holding device 700enclose the container in a form-locking manner and thus safely andreliably by the gripper 71 on a recess 20 or on a bulge 21 of thecontainer 2 and thereby hold it.

In the operating state, the container source 31, which is a fillingstation in FIG. 3a to FIG. 3c , as said before, is supplied with emptycontainers 2 by a container dispenser (not shown here), these emptycontainers 2 are filled in the container source 31 with a fillingmaterial, for example with a beverage, then transferred to the firstholding device 7, 71 in the form of a gripper 71 of the transport module1, which transports the filled containers in the direction A to thecontainer receiver 32 and transfers them to the third holding device700, 71, which is also designed as a gripper 71, for sealing by thesealer of the container receiver 32. After the containers have beencarefully sealed, they are ejected in the direction B for furtherprocessing, e.g. for forwarding to a packaging module for a ready todispatch packaging of the containers.

Finally, FIG. 4A shows a special embodiment of a chain guide withcontainer 2 on a first or third holding device 7, 71, 700 of a transportmodule according to the invention or of a container receiver 32 of theinvention, wherein the functionality of the first or the third holdingdevices according to FIG. 4A from the view AN is exemplarily illustratedby FIG. 4B. It is clear, that the second holding device of the containersource 31, if it is designed in the form of a gripper, in practice isusually carried out analogously and also works as the first and thirdholding devices 7, 71, 700 described with reference to FIG. 4A or 4B.

As can be clearly seen in FIG. 4A, the container 2 is a beverage can,which is provided with an here annular recess 20 and an here annularbulge 21 at the upper end in the area of a neck area of the containerfor a better and more secure grasping by the first holding device 7, 71being designed as gripping tongs or by the second holding device(holder) 710 being designed as gripping tongs or by the third holdingdevice 710 being designed as gripping tongs. The gripping tongs areguided at the transporter 61 in the form of a chain drive known per se,which can be guided along the transport route 6. A sensor element S isdisposed at the first, third or second holding device 7, 71, 700, 710,with which an opening or a closing of the holding device 7, 71, 700, 710is initiated, when the container 2 is transferred from the containersource 31 to the transport module 1 or when the container 2 is to bepassed from the transport module to the container receiver 32. Forclarity, FIG. 4 shows the holding device 7, 71, 700, 710 in differentpositions. Namely, in the fully closed state G, in which the container 2is completely enclosed by the holding device 7, 71, 700, 710, so thatthe container 2 is safely held, in the half-closed state G1 or in thehalf-open state O1, which corresponds to a state in which the containeris about to transfer to another module or shortly after the transfer toanother module. Furthermore, the holding device 7, 71, 700, 71 is stillillustrated in a fully open state O, in which the container 2 isreleased from the holding device 7, 71, 700, 71.

It is clear, that the particular embodiments of the invention discussedare to be understood as exemplary only and that the invention is ofcourse not limited to these alone. In particular, the person skilled inthe art understands that the described embodiments may be combined inany suitable manner and that, of course, simple developments of theclaimed scope of patent, that are obvious to the person skilled in theart, are also included.

1. A transport module for transporting a container from a containersource to a container receiver, the transport module comprising: atransporter that travels on a transport route disposed between areception area and a transfer area; a first holder configured to receiveand hold the container arranged and configured at the transporter suchthat the container is capable of being grasped by the first holder inthe reception area and the container is capable of being suspendinglytransported along the transport route from the reception area to thetransfer area, carried by the first holder.
 2. The transport moduleaccording to claim 1, the first holder comprises a gripper.
 3. Thetransport module according to claim 1, wherein the first holdercomprises a contact module.
 4. The transport module according to claim1, wherein the transporter comprises a transport chain driven by a driveor a transport belt driven by a drive configured to move the firstholder.
 5. A processing device for processing a container, comprising: acontainer source; a container receiver; and a transport module accordingto claim 1, the container capable of being transported from thecontainer source to the container receiver by the transport module. 6.The processing device according to claim 5, wherein the container sourceis a container dispenser configured to provide empty containers or thecontainer receiver is a filling station configured to fill the containerwith a filling material.
 7. The processing device according to claim 5,wherein the container source is a filling station configured to fill thecontainer with a filling material or the container receiver is a sealingmodule configured to seal the container with a lid.
 8. The processingdevice according to claim 5, wherein the container source comprises asecond holder configured to receive and hold the container or thecontainer receiver comprises a third holder configured to receive andhold the container, the second holder or the third holder comprising agripper, or the second holder or the third holder comprising a contactmodule.
 9. A method for transporting the container from the containersource to the container receiver by the transport module according toclaim 1, the transport module comprising transporter that travels on thetransport route disposed between the reception area and the transferarea between the container source and the container receiver, the methodcomprising: receiving and holding container by the container source inthe reception area by a first holder disposed at the transporter;suspendingly transporting the container from the reception area to thetransfer area, while carried by the first holder; and transferring thecontainer to the container receiver in the transfer area.
 10. The methodaccording to claim 9, further comprising transferring the container fromthe container source to the first holder by a second holder in thereception area or transferring the container from the first holder to athird holder of the container receiver in the transfer area.
 11. Themethod according to claim 10, wherein the second holder or the holdercomprises a gripper or the second holder or the third holder comprises acontact module.
 12. The method according to claim 10, wherein the firstholder or the second holder or the third holder comprises a gripper andthe first holder or the second holder or the third holder grips thecontainer in a form-locking manner by the gripper on a recess or on abulge of the container.
 13. The method according to claim 9, wherein thecontainer source is a container dispenser and provides empty containersor a container receiver in the form of a filling station fills thecontainer with a filling material.
 14. The method according to claim 9,wherein the container source is a filling station for filling thecontainer with a filling material or a container receiver in the form ofa sealing module seals the container by a lid.
 15. The method accordingto claim 9, wherein the container is a beverage can filled with a liquidfood.
 16. The transport module according to claim 1, the first holdercomprises gripping tongs configured to grasp and hold the container. 17.The transport module according to claim 1, wherein the first holdercomprises a vacuum assisted suction module or a magnet assisted contactmodule or an adhesively assisted contact module configured to grasp andhold the container.
 18. The processing device according to claim 5,wherein the container source comprises a second holder configured toreceive and hold the container or the container receiver comprises athird holder configured to receive and hold the container, the secondholder or the third holder comprising a gripper, or the second holder orthe third holder comprising a vacuum assisted suction module or a magnetassisted contact module or an adhesively assisted contact moduleconfigured to grasp and hold the container.
 19. A method fortransporting the container from the container source to the containerreceiver by the transport module according to claim 5, the transportmodule comprising transporter that travels on the transport routedisposed between the reception area and the transfer area between thecontainer source and the container receiver, the method comprising:receiving and holding container by the container source in the receptionarea by a first holder disposed at the transporter; suspendinglytransporting the container from the reception area to the transfer area,while carried by the first holder; and transferring the container to thecontainer receiver in the transfer area.
 20. The method according toclaim 10, wherein the second holder or the holder comprises grippingtongs configured to grasp and hold the container or the second holder orthe third holder comprises a vacuum assisted suction module or a magnetassisted contact module or an adhesively assisted contact moduleconfigured to grasp and hold the container.